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Northern Command Established in Colorado
Wednesday, October 2, 2002
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Oct. 1, 2002: United States Northern Command flag being unfurled.
Image Credit: SSgt. Larry Holmes -- USAF.

During World War II, Wolfowitz said, the term "home front" dealt with U.S. citizens who worked to build the equipment and supplies for U.S. forces and their allies to fight overseas. The home front today is an actual battlefield, he said. While U.S. forces will continue to defend the United States in places like Afghanistan, other forces must concentrate on preventing more attacks from being launched against the United States.

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz called the activation of U.S. Northern Command "historic" and said the new command is charged with "the momentous responsibility to help deter and defend against attacks on America's home soil."

Wolfowitz and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard Myers participated in the command's activation ceremony at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Air Force Gen. Ralph Eberhart is the commander of the new combatant command.

At the same time, Myers helped "case" the colors of U.S. Space Command. Some of the functions that unified command performed have merged with U.S. Strategic Command based at Offutt AFB, Neb.

Wolfowitz said the new command will focus aerospace, land and sea defenses, and provide critical support for U.S. civil authorities in times of national need. "In standing up Northern Command, we are effecting a real transformation -- a transformation that will leave us better organized, better trained, and better prepared to meet the security environment that will define the 21st Century," he said.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Dan